The rural economy should not be forgotten in South Africa’s economic growth agenda,
About half of South Africa’s maize was exported to Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea in the first 13 weeks of the 2025-26 marketing year
Concerns over poultry and red meat supplies should not have a bearing in the long term
These countries need to rethink the prohibitive tariffs they place on each other
Agriculture in the country is experiencing a recovery season for its grain and oilseed production, although some areas may have quality problems
South Africa’s food inflation rose to 4.4% in May but this is expected to be temporary
This is despite a slight decline, attributed to an uncertain global trade environment, geopolitical tension and domestic animal disease problems
This forecast is based indications of good harvests in key producing countries such as the European Union, Russia, Canada, Argentina, the United Kingdom and India
The outbreak of animal disease is a concern but there’s good news from the field crops, horticulture and poultry sectors
Frequent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza and African swine fever suggest weakness in biosecurity controls and the effect of climate change